<p>Everyone knows the e-mails I'm talking about. I've been getting lots of e-mails from lots of colleges--even colleges that I considered "super reaches," like Stanford, Cal Tech, and Washington U in St. Louis. Do these e-mails actually mean they want you to come to their school or is it just some stupid way to advertise. Just curious...</p>
<p>Just a way to advertise.</p>
<p>Caltech specifically was trying to broaden its applicant pool this year, which no doubt involved sending lots of nice emails and letters. </p>
<p>Caltech's rationale is that its reputation often pushes students to not apply (for fear of rejection or for fear of the lifestyle), and they just don't want qualified students to get intimidated and not apply.</p>
<p>I always thought the largest source for email and home addresses was from standardized tests (particularly the PSAT), so if you did well on that, that could definitely be the cause.</p>
<p>My son got a number of these too. I believe that some are legit, and others are advertising to broaden their applicant base. Regardless of which type they were, he sure enjoyed basking in their glow. You do the same. ;)</p>
<p>Ubetter, my soph D got mail from the schools you mention, and well as from a ton of other schools, including Williams, Columbia and Brown. Out of curiosity, I called Columbia and Williams, and spoke to admissions officers to inquire what criteria they used in determining who they send mail to. The response I got is that they send mail to students who have taken the PSAT and scored above a certain amount; and who have self-reported a high GPA. I suspect all the other selective schools must have similar criteria.</p>
<p>I'm a senior. I know where I'm going to college next year. And yet I'm still getting emails/letters/brochures from University of Idaho every week. Every stinkin week. I've never showed any interest at all in them (contrary to what their mail merge letter told me), but that doesn't stop them. I don't think college mail EVER goes away.</p>
<p>I always thought that CollegeBoard didn't send out actual scores with Student Search.</p>
<p>Tulane sent me mail, although I was under the impression that it was still not really in a working state, like most of New Orleans...</p>